changing the way people think about church...

November 23, 2010

Loving the tough to love...

Many of us will spend some time this Holiday season with people who are... let's just say it...tough to love! It is reality. Some people are harder to love than others. They talk about themselves constantly. They have to be the center of attention. They have more problems than we do. They take much more than they give.

The Bible indeed concedes that some people are harder to love! However, God does NOT lower the requirement to love our neighbors as ourselves:

"If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that." Matthew 5:46–47 (NLT)

Jesus modeled this for us, by the way. In our relationship with Him, we are the draining ones; the ones who have all the problems; the ones who take much more than we give! Yet, He loves us unconditionally!

So this Holiday season, let's allow the love that Christ has shown us to be reflected in the relationships around us...even to the tough to love...because that's who we are!